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June 25, 2012

Q: Six Tips to Have Your Best XC Season Ever?

Hey Lauren!

I hope everything is going well for you:) I had a decent track season. 800-2:18; 1600-5:15; 3200-11:30. So not great but I had some setbacks coming in…I struggled w/ low iron and mono for waaay longer than I thought it would!

But I’m heading right into XC season and for once I’m just healthy! No mono, low iron, or stress fractures. I want to have the best XC season of my life! It’s my senior year so maybe I could get some college coaches to notice me.

I just watched a girl dominate my state meet in the 3200 who looked about 5’5 and like 80 lbs, but you believe as long as your eating healthy you shouldn’t have to worry about weight?? I just want to do everything for this amazing XC season. Do you have any advice on how to make it great? I have never really ran much more than 20-30 miles a week. Any advice would be awesome…I’m sooo ready for this season!

F.R.

A:

Hey F.R.

That’s great news that your mono is cleared up and your iron is up. Those two things alone will make a really big difference. Add in your determination and some good decisions and you’re in for a great one. And by the way, those are good track times! Give yourself some credit girl!

From what little I know about you, these are the six things I recommend you do to have the best cross country season of your life:

Run consistently 25-35 miles a week, with a rest day every week. This number is different for everyone based on what they’ve done in the past, but you can increase a little bit every year through high school and college.

SLEEP enough. This is the hardest thing to do in high school, but at least 5 days a week, you need to get good sleep or the training is pointless, your iron will go back down, and blahbadee-blah-blah bad news. Easier said than done I know, but make it happen.

DON’T TAKE SHORTCUTS. It will be tempting all year to get distracted by too-skinny girls having short term success. If you want to run in college like you say you do, you’ll want to have success that you can build on every year. Build your own confidence by not looking around at others too much and working with the body you have. It is hard work to do that, but in my opinion, THAT is the only success worth having.

Aim for a B+/A- diet (you don’t need an A+). A+ diets are not sustainable and they take so much focus that you can’t focus on your training and your happiness.

Brainwash yourself to be a bad-ass. “I LOVE to compete. I LOVE how I can tolerate pain. I am strong and tough and freaking awesome.” Every quality you need this season is inside you. You just have to bring it out with practice. Every morning, on your warmups, every night, say those things to yourself. Seriously. Pro athletes do it. It works.

Get the Believe I Am Training Diary and use it every day. It will help with goals, racing, training, and confidence. My friend Ro and I created it to be the ideal training tool for female runners who want to get the most out of themselves. We even have an enormous 40% off team discount for teams that order 10 or more ($15 each and a free motivational team poster).

Go get your best XC season ever girl, and let me know how it goes!
Lauren

“Build your own confidence by not looking around at others too much and working with the body you have. It is hard work to do that, but in my opinion, THAT is the only success worth having.” BOOM! [thanks Lauren, good luck F.R.!]

My coach ALWAYS tells us what types of runs to do, when to rest, etc. I know cross training and doing my best during practice will help a lot (which I do), but what will take me from the “oh-they’re-good-but-never-really-win group” to the “oh-snap-that-girl-could-take-down-this-whole-field group”?! I don’t want to disobey my coach, but then again, if it means fulfilling my full potential, I would. Yes, I would do that.

Well, the biggest thing that will take you to that next group is your state of mind. Once you make up your mind you want to be great, the biggest risk is overdoing it. There is no shortcut to success other than hard work and smart training. You can’t just train harder. You have to live like an athlete. You have to continue to have rest days and eat smart without getting too strict. Once you decide you want to be great, you can go one of two ways. The easiest way is to go all crazy hardcore about everything. That works out sometimes but usually it’s short term success and has consequences (injury, eating disorders from too much emphasis on nutrition, lack of balance, etc). I really believe there is a right way to do it, and it is to work on being confident in who you are, identify your strengths and make them untouchable, spend no more than 10% of your time on your weaknesses. Change your lifestyle to be athletic, strong, and healthy. Get rid of the people in your life who make you feel bad about yourself or question yourself. Surround yourself with positive people who are driven and motivated. Don’t let negativity rent space in your brain for free. That is how you become a badass…by excavating her from inside you. You don’t have to become someone else. You need to identify the effing awesome parts of you that are your tools to work with and maximize those.

This is actually really applicable to not just running, but many things. I kind of needed to hear that – that getting rid of the negative chatter is a choice. It doesn’t have to be there. Been struggling with the confidence lately. No idea why. Has made writing an essay on “why I’m awesome and why you should pick me” kind of tough! 🙂

I guess even if you’re not you and really exceptional, there is still something cool or awesome about yourself.

I love this advice! I am training very hard right now in the hopes that I can walk on to the Cal Poly XC team in the fall. It is my dream to run collegiately and I was out all Xc season last year (stress fracture), so I have to prove myself and show them I can work hard. (I’m not a naturally gifted fast runner- I have to work really hard to get to where I am/want to be). Just wondering, what kind of a diet would you suggest? I feel like I eat healthy: oatmeal, fruit, PB&Js, but what else? I want to do EVERYthing I can possibly do to maximize my potential and attain my goals.

As a coach, I’m thrilled to read that runners want to be “bad-ass”. But when that includes “disobeying the coach” that’s taking down a wrong path. Coaches are there for a reason. It sets a bad example to the rest of the team when an athlete goes against what Coach says. Instead, you should talk to your coach if you feel you’re not getting the best workout. I understand the wanting to be the best you can be. Go for it! But I’m disappointed that no one is standing up for coaches. By the way, Lauren, you’re great! Thanks for everything.

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